Is Being Kinda Vegan Okay?

The last few months I’ve been stuck in a turmoil of whether or not to turn vegan and whether or not to make the kids go with me. It’s not so much the actual ‘I don’t know how to go vegan’ as i follow a bunch of instagram profiles of vegan parents, have read up on nutrients needed and was previously vegetarian for 8 years before I because pregnant with Leo. I actually stopped because I found it far too high maintenance when I was dealing with my Post Natal Depression so had to put it on a back burner so it seems like the perfect time now that I am happy healthy and living my best life. It’s more the ethical side that’s bothering me. Is stopping the kids from eating meat and dairy valid or is it wrong holding them back? We’ve been experimenting a lot with different meat and dairy substitutes and to be perfectly honest we’re still finding a balance. I want to reduce it as much as possible but I am not going to over stress myself with the process whilst I am still finding my feet and although you hear people all of the time saying that if you are trying to eat a vegan or vegetarian diet and slip or can’t fully go then it is horrendous and can’t associate yourself with those communities, I think that doing as much as you can is perfectly valid.

I wouldn’t even ask Rico to go Vegan or even Vegetarian as he is literally the most carnivorous person that I have ever met in my entire life. If I even dare cooking plain pasta with tomato sauce he’ll run off with the meat withdrawal sweats and rock back and forth in front of the oven until his chicken nuggets are ready. I don’t really understand it myself, but he is fine with the dairy substitutes. I think we all prefer soya milk and vegan cheese so that has never been an issue and to be perfectly honest I think that we’d all be happy if we never ate normal dairy again. Even the yoghurt is surprisingly delicious.

Another big problem that I have come across is feeding on the go. Snacks and packed lunches aren’t a problem because the kids basically eat fruit, biscuits and sandwiches which is super easy to recreate but when the kids are getting stressy and we’re not able to find an appropriate place with food that we can sit down and eat or if I don’t have anything to give them that I can buy and chuck in the prams on the go then I think I’m willing to compromise and get vegetarian if possible but if not then I’m not going to beat myself up.

Leo is also beginning to make decisions for himself and I like to let him pick as much as he can to give him that independence so either out of at home I always give him more than one option. If we are at home then I’ll give him the option of the vegan option that myself and sofia are having or the meat option that his dad is having and he is able to choose and when we’re out then I just let him choose whatever he wants off of the menu within reason. He’s such a picky child I don’t want to make dinner and lunch times any more stressful than it needs to be.

What do you guys think? Is it okay to go partially vegan or vegetarian and is it okay to give your kids those food choices too?